Method of manufacturing building brick



y 1932- M, T. STRAIGHT 1,859,723

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BUILDING BRICK Filed Jan. 2. 1930 K570677170]? Maria/a Jfitzgyfi t Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES MERT'ON T. STRAIGHT, OF DES MOINES, IOWA METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BUILDING BRICK.

Application filed January 2, 1930. Serial No. 417,859.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved method of manufacturing brick formed of plastic material, so that one or more of its faces may have a beautiful, artistic surface, having the appearance of be ing old, worn and weather beaten, and at the same time having a comparatively smooth and hard surface so that adhesive substances will not firmly adhere to said surface, and which may be easily cleaned.

My invention consists in the various steps of the method, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a portion of a brick machine for forming the plastic material into brick, and illustrates diagrammatically one of the steps of my improved method.

Figure 2 illustratesa portion of the mechanism for carrying out the drying steps of my improved process.

Figure 3 illustrates one form of mechanism used to form the uneven surface of the brick.

Figure 4: illustrates one form of a kiln for carrying out the burning step of my improved method.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a finished brick produced by my improved method.

In carrying out my improved method, suitable shales and clay are ground together, mixed with water, pugged and delivered to the mill 10, which is of the ordinary construction, and in which the plastic material is formed into rectangular bricks 11, which are then delivered to a suitable conveyor 12. The bricks 11 are then placed on drying cars 13. The cars 13 are then moved into a suitable drying kiln 1 1, after which the bricks are dried in the usual manner to relieve them of substantially all of the free moisture.

The bricks are then placed on a suitable support or conveyor 15, and caused to pass a jet of sand 16 from the nozzle 17 of a sand blast apparatus 18, which is of the ordinary construction. The nozzle 17 is held by the operator and moved laterally so that the sand from the said nozzle will cause the upper surface of the brick supported on the platform to be cut away, which will result in some portions of the brick being cut away faster than other portions, and the upper surface to present an uneven and dull surface, the smooth surface of the dried brick thus treated being entirely removed.

The brick are then placed in the burning kiln 19 and burned in the usual manner.

Each of the bricks has an uneven surface 20, as illustrated in Figure 5, said surface having the appearance of being worn away by the action of the elements of the weather and at the same time present a hard smooth and uneven surface.

It will readily be seen that the finished surface, produced by my improved method, of two bricks will not be alike. If the bricks are vitrified in the burning process, then the finished surface will be hard and smooth, and of irregular shape, so that the bricks, when laid in a wall, are relieved of the mechanical effect caused by the matting of the finished surface by the mechanical process, as heretofore has been the custom. The matting of the surface takes place while the bricks are in a plastic condition, after which they are dried and burned. I

My improved method is capable of considerable variations to produce different finished surfaces. For instance, in mixing the shales, the shale may be ground to a powdered condition, mixed with water and then hard granulars may be added thereto and mixed and delivered to the brick machine, afterwhich the plastic brick will be formed of regular shape and size, which may then be dried, and have one or more of its surfaces cut by the sand blast process, or by any means 66 whereby portions of the material are removed to produce a dull uneven surface.

If aggregate is mixed with the plastic ma terial, it will readily be seen that a very irregular surface will be'produced, inasmuch as the soft material will be removed very rapidly Without materially removing any of the hard particles. The bricks are then burned in the usual manner.

The surface design may be further varied by splattering the surface of the treated portion with an elastic adhesive material, such as gelatine and water, then sand blasting and burning. The elastic material being applied to prevent penetration of the cutting material so that finished surface may present an irregular design of Varying depth.

Further variations in the coloring and shape of the finished surface may be provided by adding various kinds of aggregate, such, for instance, as flint, feldspar, iron ore, etc. The heating of these ingredients in the burning process causes coloring of the material around said elements.

The coloring of the finished surface may be further varied by applying a liquid coloring material to the treated surface of the brick before burning, such as is well known in the art.

It will further be seen that other means may be employed for cutting or producing the dull uneven surface in the dried brick instead of the sand blast process, such, for instance, as a rotating brush or similar device, may be employed for cutting or roughening the surface, after which the coloring liquid may be applied if so desired.

My improved method consists briefly in mixing together materials from which the bricks are to be formed, and then forming and drying the brick in the usual manner, then treating one or more surfaces of the dried brick to roughen the same to produce a comparatively smooth and uneven surface as distinguished from a surface produced by mechanical devices while the brick is in a plastic condition, then applying a coloring liquid, if so desired, and then burning in the usual manner.

Thus it will be seen that by my improved method, a faced building brick or block may be formed having an artistic and finished surface and in which the mechanical monotony of its design has been entirely eliminated and a surface which is comparatively hard and smooth so that dirt and foreign substances will not readily adhere thereto and may be easily cleaned when so desired.

In the claims I have used the term brick to indicate generallythe article produced by my improved method. It is to be understood that I use this term in this broad sense, but mean any sort of building element, such, for instance, as ornamental tiles, roofing tile, floor tile, bricks or building tile, or building blocks.

I claim as my invention:

1. The methodof forming building bricks which consists-in first forming a brick of plastic material with a smooth surface, then drying'to'remove free moisture, then cutting one or more of its surfaces to remove the smooth surface, and then burning in'the usual manner.

2. The-'methodof forming finished building brick, which consists in first forming the brick of plastic material, then drying in the usual manner to remove free moisture, then treating one side of the brick to form an uneven and dull surface, and then burning in the usual manner.

8. The method of forming finished building brick, which consists in first forming a brick of plastic material, then drying in the usual manner to remove free moisture, then cutting one of its edges by sand blasting to remove portions of its surface and then burning.

4. The method of forming finished building brick, which consists in mixing together powdered materials from which the brick is to be formed, then adding a hard aggregate, then milling and forming in the usual manner, then drying the brick to remove free moisture, then cutting one surface of the brick to remove the softer portions of the materials, and then burning in the usual manner.

5. The method of forming finished building brick, which consists in first forming the brick of plastic material, then drying to remove free moisture, then applying means for removing the more easily removable portions of the surface, and then burning in the usual manner.

6. The method of forming a faced building brick which consists in first forming the brick of plastic material, drying, splattering one of its edges with an elastic adhesive material, then sand blasting and burning.

7. The method of forming a faced building brick which consists in first forming the brick of plastic material, drying, sand blasting, then spla tering one of its surfaces with a coloring liquid, then burning in the usual manner.

8. The method of forming a faced building brick which consists in first forming the brick of plastic material, drying, splattering one of its edges with an elastic material, sand blasting, then splattering the treated surface with a coloring liquid, then burning in the usual manner.

9. The method of forming a faced building brick which consists in mixing together powdered materials from which the brick is to be formed and adding a hard aggregate, then milling in the usual manner, then drying the brick to remove free moisture, then cutting one surface of the brick to remove portions of the material to form an uneven surface, then applying or splattering the treated surface with a coloring liquid, then burning in the usual manner. I

Des Moines, Iowa, December 11, 1929.

MERTON T. STRAIGHT. 

